Muslim Store Unveils Stylish Clothing for Women Who Veil (Part 3 of 3)

Three years ago three friends couldn’t find fashionable yet modest clothing for hijab-clad women.They figured they must not be alone. The three Muslim-American women, Hanan Mirza, Haji Linda Bazzi and Haji Mariam Murad decided to open up a clothing shop catering to women who experienced the same dilemma.

“There are a lot of Arab (women) in the community and we want to help them feel like they are in their original countries and meet their Islamic needs,” Mirza said.

This is how Nour Al-Reda Islamic Fashions was born. It is not the only store that sells what it considers chic, fashionable and hip clothing to Muslim-American women, at least not in Dearborn, where a majority of Michigan Muslims reside.

Continued -The shop sells fashionable, colorful clothing in a dizzying array of colors, as well as different- styled hijabs. It even sells accessories to dress up the hijab and there are apparently different styles of the hijab,  the Kuwaiti-style that wraps around itself; the traditional; and hijabs embroidered with colors or embossed with jewels.

The clothes still cover the hair, arms and neck as is describe in the Quran as `modest.’ “Covering all over (the niqab or burqa) is cultural and not religious,” Mirza said.

The store also sells cell phones and key chains that aren’t necessarily related to Islam. They also sell CDs and tapes of readings from the Quran in Arabic and English

It does not escape Mirza that it was three women friends who decided to open the store, although there are many, similar shops run and owned by men in Dearborn.

Driving around Dearborn one sees women of all ages donning the fashionable clothes aimed, made and sold specifically to women who veil. The plethora of shops that have popped up in the past couple of years catering to this need is evidence that women wearing the hijab want fashion along with their modesty, and they don’t see a problem in self-expression while maintaining their beliefs.
The women decided  soon after they opened their store to take their venture worldwide; to go on online to reach and service Muslim women in the United States, Canada and overseas.The site sells everything the store does and although a bit of everything is sold, scarves – and there are many different styles  of the hijab- are -  the most popular. “Initially, we opened the shop to make it easier for the Muslim sisters to find everything they want and need for hijab,” Mirza said. “It is important to have a website because it is easier and faster to shop online and also it allows communication with clients who might never get to us because of location or other difficulties.”

As to why she decided to veil and the significance of the hijab, Mirza said, “The Virgin Mary wore a scarf and covered herself, the hijab is not necessarily religious; covering is cultural more than it is religious.” She said a woman has to know the purpose of the hijab before she wears it.”You should understand its purpose and significance and then is should and will be your choice,” she said.

“In Islam it is noted that someone asked the Prophet Mohammad what should be covered and when,” Mirza said. “‘It is when a girl hits puberty that she should cover and she should cover her hair and her body and show her face and hands’ was his reply.”

Mirza said she thinks the hijab is something a girl is raised into but also seeks out and learns about on her own.

“Learning and knowledge are a huge aspect of the hijab and the religion and you also have to know the other religions, also have to believe not only in Allah and the Prophet Mohammad, but The Jesus and Moses who were prophets too.”